Michigan went on a 17-0 run over seven minutes to start the game in Bloomington, Indiana. That as a whole is a brief summary of what the game, as a whole, was like. Michigan turned on the style and cruised to a 23-point shellacking of an Indiana team that was booed several times by their home court fans in Assembly Hall. While the IU fans may have been upset with their team's performance, Michigan fans were surely pleased.
Game Story:
The 17-0 run to open the game set the tone immediately. It saw Michigan score their seventeen over a 5:07 stretch to start the game, it included three threes, saw Indiana turn the ball over four times, and saw IU go zero-for-eight to start the game from the field. A defining moment was Ignas Brazdeikis finishing a tough lay-up with a bit of contact, Archie Miller urging his team to get forward quicker, Jon Teske then making a steal on Rob Phinisee, and Zavier Simpson finishing a lay-up before Miller called a timeout to boos of the Indiana faithful. Indiana's first points were a pair of Al Durham free throws. Brazdeikis would respond with an and-one to run the lead to 20-2 before Indiana would get their first field goal, a high off the glass lay-up from Durham, almost ten minutes into the game. Juwan Morgan's lay-up with the foul got the crowd back into it, but things continued to be run by Michigan even with Indiana showing a bit more urgency. Phinisee hit the first Hoosiers three of the night to make things 26-12, then neither side scored for over a minute-and-a-half until Brazdeikis laid one up and in for two points. Jordan Poole hit his second three to close out the scoring for Michigan, and they entered the half with a cool 33-18 lead over their hosts.
Inevitably, though, Indiana had a flurry in them to open the second half. Romeo Langford finally got on the scoreboard with a post-up, back-in, finish, and foul. Then Morgan finished another bucket close to the rim. A Brazdeikis triple was sandwiched in-between a pair of quick IU 4-0 runs as after his three it was Morgan then Justin Smith with a pair of close-range finishes, the latter forcing a John Beilein timeout. Phinisee would drill his second three of the night making it a 38-29 game and drawing the gap to single digits with 16:50 to play, but Michigan's trip down saw Brazdeikis hit another three, this one more back-breaking than the last. Charles Matthews went on a personal 7-0 run after a hard foul, including a three at the top of the key, to extend things to 48-32 for the Wolverines. Isaiah Livers had had a rough night, but a play drawn up for him saw him open on a three and able to bury it. That sparked things in the opposite direction, actually, as Justin Smith, usually poor from three, drilled a three of his own and hit a lay-up to make things 53-39, but this was Indiana's last gasp of air. Jon Teske slammed the door with a three of his own, Eli Brooks hit a step-back two, and after a Langford two immediately before the Brooks step-back, Indiana went 4:20 without scoring a field goal. Since was within a time frame that saw Michigan take their first twenty-point lead of the game on a Brazdeikis lay-up in transition to make it 62-41. Two Zavier Simpson lay-ups and a deep three from freshman Adrien Nunez finished off Michigan's scoring on the night and gave them a 69-46 win that, truthfully, was not even as close as the final score may entail.
What Happened:
There are two real sides to this story. The first side is that Michigan executed their game plan to perfection. The other side is that Indiana was just absolutely lost in terms of playing the game, themselves. Both sides are intertwined, and it is hard to talk about one without the other. First, though, let us go through the bad of IU.
Indiana shot 27.6% from the field, 15% from three (three-for-twenty), and 55% from the free throw line. Overall, this was an atrocious shooting night for the Hoosiers, who had just one player -- Juwan Morgan -- in double-figures. If you exclude Morgan's output, Indiana was just 21.7% from the field. Coincidentally, that was as much as Romeo Langford's three-point percentage before this game. It dropped even more so after he missed both threes he took. The freshman phenom was forced into one of the worst games of his career, if not the absolute worst. Charles Matthews handled him to the tune of nine points on three-for-twelve shooting, while also forcing Langford to commit three fouls in the first half. The freshman's night was a trial of errors with frustration fouls, rushed shots, cold shooting all around, and the capper was getting toasted on a drive by Zavier Simpson where it looked like he did not care about getting blown by. Over the last four, Langford has shot just 30.4% while going zero-for-twelve from three. He needs to find his game in order for Indiana to improve. Juwan Morgan has been the key man for Indiana, with sixteen points and twelve rebounds along with four blocks, but if it is only Morgan working in the low post for Indiana with zero help, the Hoosiers are in trouble the rest of the season.
Of course, much of Indiana's bad play was expertly capitalized by Michigan. The ball screen defense was not at all adjusted upon over the course of the 17-0 run. Michigan targeted Justin Smith on offense and singled him out as a weak point on defense. Examples of Smith's weakness on defense can be highlighted throughout the 17-0 stretch. First, a ball screen, Simpson gets screened for by Teske, both Rob Phinisee and Morgan cover Simpson. Smith is charged with watching the Teske roll and Ignas Brazdeikis as Morgan gets back. Teske bumps Smith and makes it impossible for him to get out to cover Brazdeikis on the perimeter, and the freshman drained a three. Then, another ball screen, this time Simpson drives on Phinisee and Smith has to help off Jordan Poole. Smith helps too much, and Simpson finds Poole to drill a three. Finally, another ball screen for Simpson set by Teske. Smith remembers what happened earlier and doesn't engage Teske, but he hedges on Brazdeikis too much and leaves Teske wide-open to be found for an easy dunk. Smith finished a respectable three-for-eight from the field, but that includes one-for-four on threes that were, for the most part, wide-open. He finished at a plus/minus of -26 and his night was a micro-chasm for what Michigan did right.
In terms of Michigan's individual performers, Brazdeikis was the key man for the majority of the game. Iggy went for twenty points on eight-for-twelve shooting, seven rebounds, and three-for-five from three and overall took over the game when Michigan needed him the most. His two threes in the second half were vitally important instead of steadying the ship after a quick flurry. Charles Matthews also played an important role in frustrating Langford for the second time this season despite shooting just three-for-ten. Matthews is able to quietly go about business, including hitting two threes and ten points with eleven rebounds. Despite the disappointing shooting night, he, too, had a brief stretch of taking over the game with seven quick points in the second half. Overall, though, both Simpson and Teske also finished with double-figure buckets, Simpson having twelve points, six rebounds, and five assists with his trademark coolness at the point guard position, while Teske finished with eleven points. An additional high point of the game was Brandon Johns seemingly staking his claim as back-up center with six important minutes and, despite getting caught up in some down screens and switches, he looked solid all around on offense and defense.
What's Next:
Michigan hosts Ohio State in the lone installment of their rivalry this season at 9 P.M. on Tuesday the 26th. Ohio State is, like the Hoosiers were, on a massive slide as they dropped five games in a row heading into their trip to Lincoln today, but they topped the Cornhuskers on the road in a big win. They will hope to build off winning in one of the tougher places to play in the NCAA, while Michigan will hope to get their 20th victory in front of their home crowd.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for plenty more Michigan basketball coverage, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Liverpool FC coverage as well!
Game Story:
The 17-0 run to open the game set the tone immediately. It saw Michigan score their seventeen over a 5:07 stretch to start the game, it included three threes, saw Indiana turn the ball over four times, and saw IU go zero-for-eight to start the game from the field. A defining moment was Ignas Brazdeikis finishing a tough lay-up with a bit of contact, Archie Miller urging his team to get forward quicker, Jon Teske then making a steal on Rob Phinisee, and Zavier Simpson finishing a lay-up before Miller called a timeout to boos of the Indiana faithful. Indiana's first points were a pair of Al Durham free throws. Brazdeikis would respond with an and-one to run the lead to 20-2 before Indiana would get their first field goal, a high off the glass lay-up from Durham, almost ten minutes into the game. Juwan Morgan's lay-up with the foul got the crowd back into it, but things continued to be run by Michigan even with Indiana showing a bit more urgency. Phinisee hit the first Hoosiers three of the night to make things 26-12, then neither side scored for over a minute-and-a-half until Brazdeikis laid one up and in for two points. Jordan Poole hit his second three to close out the scoring for Michigan, and they entered the half with a cool 33-18 lead over their hosts.
Inevitably, though, Indiana had a flurry in them to open the second half. Romeo Langford finally got on the scoreboard with a post-up, back-in, finish, and foul. Then Morgan finished another bucket close to the rim. A Brazdeikis triple was sandwiched in-between a pair of quick IU 4-0 runs as after his three it was Morgan then Justin Smith with a pair of close-range finishes, the latter forcing a John Beilein timeout. Phinisee would drill his second three of the night making it a 38-29 game and drawing the gap to single digits with 16:50 to play, but Michigan's trip down saw Brazdeikis hit another three, this one more back-breaking than the last. Charles Matthews went on a personal 7-0 run after a hard foul, including a three at the top of the key, to extend things to 48-32 for the Wolverines. Isaiah Livers had had a rough night, but a play drawn up for him saw him open on a three and able to bury it. That sparked things in the opposite direction, actually, as Justin Smith, usually poor from three, drilled a three of his own and hit a lay-up to make things 53-39, but this was Indiana's last gasp of air. Jon Teske slammed the door with a three of his own, Eli Brooks hit a step-back two, and after a Langford two immediately before the Brooks step-back, Indiana went 4:20 without scoring a field goal. Since was within a time frame that saw Michigan take their first twenty-point lead of the game on a Brazdeikis lay-up in transition to make it 62-41. Two Zavier Simpson lay-ups and a deep three from freshman Adrien Nunez finished off Michigan's scoring on the night and gave them a 69-46 win that, truthfully, was not even as close as the final score may entail.
What Happened:
There are two real sides to this story. The first side is that Michigan executed their game plan to perfection. The other side is that Indiana was just absolutely lost in terms of playing the game, themselves. Both sides are intertwined, and it is hard to talk about one without the other. First, though, let us go through the bad of IU.
Indiana shot 27.6% from the field, 15% from three (three-for-twenty), and 55% from the free throw line. Overall, this was an atrocious shooting night for the Hoosiers, who had just one player -- Juwan Morgan -- in double-figures. If you exclude Morgan's output, Indiana was just 21.7% from the field. Coincidentally, that was as much as Romeo Langford's three-point percentage before this game. It dropped even more so after he missed both threes he took. The freshman phenom was forced into one of the worst games of his career, if not the absolute worst. Charles Matthews handled him to the tune of nine points on three-for-twelve shooting, while also forcing Langford to commit three fouls in the first half. The freshman's night was a trial of errors with frustration fouls, rushed shots, cold shooting all around, and the capper was getting toasted on a drive by Zavier Simpson where it looked like he did not care about getting blown by. Over the last four, Langford has shot just 30.4% while going zero-for-twelve from three. He needs to find his game in order for Indiana to improve. Juwan Morgan has been the key man for Indiana, with sixteen points and twelve rebounds along with four blocks, but if it is only Morgan working in the low post for Indiana with zero help, the Hoosiers are in trouble the rest of the season.
Of course, much of Indiana's bad play was expertly capitalized by Michigan. The ball screen defense was not at all adjusted upon over the course of the 17-0 run. Michigan targeted Justin Smith on offense and singled him out as a weak point on defense. Examples of Smith's weakness on defense can be highlighted throughout the 17-0 stretch. First, a ball screen, Simpson gets screened for by Teske, both Rob Phinisee and Morgan cover Simpson. Smith is charged with watching the Teske roll and Ignas Brazdeikis as Morgan gets back. Teske bumps Smith and makes it impossible for him to get out to cover Brazdeikis on the perimeter, and the freshman drained a three. Then, another ball screen, this time Simpson drives on Phinisee and Smith has to help off Jordan Poole. Smith helps too much, and Simpson finds Poole to drill a three. Finally, another ball screen for Simpson set by Teske. Smith remembers what happened earlier and doesn't engage Teske, but he hedges on Brazdeikis too much and leaves Teske wide-open to be found for an easy dunk. Smith finished a respectable three-for-eight from the field, but that includes one-for-four on threes that were, for the most part, wide-open. He finished at a plus/minus of -26 and his night was a micro-chasm for what Michigan did right.
In terms of Michigan's individual performers, Brazdeikis was the key man for the majority of the game. Iggy went for twenty points on eight-for-twelve shooting, seven rebounds, and three-for-five from three and overall took over the game when Michigan needed him the most. His two threes in the second half were vitally important instead of steadying the ship after a quick flurry. Charles Matthews also played an important role in frustrating Langford for the second time this season despite shooting just three-for-ten. Matthews is able to quietly go about business, including hitting two threes and ten points with eleven rebounds. Despite the disappointing shooting night, he, too, had a brief stretch of taking over the game with seven quick points in the second half. Overall, though, both Simpson and Teske also finished with double-figure buckets, Simpson having twelve points, six rebounds, and five assists with his trademark coolness at the point guard position, while Teske finished with eleven points. An additional high point of the game was Brandon Johns seemingly staking his claim as back-up center with six important minutes and, despite getting caught up in some down screens and switches, he looked solid all around on offense and defense.
What's Next:
Michigan hosts Ohio State in the lone installment of their rivalry this season at 9 P.M. on Tuesday the 26th. Ohio State is, like the Hoosiers were, on a massive slide as they dropped five games in a row heading into their trip to Lincoln today, but they topped the Cornhuskers on the road in a big win. They will hope to build off winning in one of the tougher places to play in the NCAA, while Michigan will hope to get their 20th victory in front of their home crowd.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for plenty more Michigan basketball coverage, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Liverpool FC coverage as well!
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